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Commonwealth legislation
The Fair Work Regulations 2009 spell out detailed rules and definitions that give effect to the Fair Work Act 2009, clarifying misconduct, coverage across jurisdictions and workplaces, and practical compliance steps for workplace relations.
They affect employers, employees (including platform and contractor-like workers), unions and regulators by setting how entitlements, bargaining, record‑keeping, pay documentation and dispute processes must operate — essential for meeting Australian workplace law obligations.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Fair Work Regulations 2009.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Chapter 1—Introduction
These Regulations are the Fair Work Regulations 2009.
In these Regulations:
Act means the Fair Work Act 2009.
folio means 72 words.
Note: Schedule 3.1 sets out certain charges that may be incurred per folio. There are generally 3 folios to a page.
high performance sport: see subregulation 2.15(4).
performance support professional: see subregulation 2.15(2).
philanthropic entity means an entity registered under the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission Act 2012 as the type of entity mentioned in column 1 of item 1 of the table in subsection 25‑5(5) of that Act.
quarter means a period of 3 months beginning on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October in a year.
WHS entry permit has the same meaning as in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
For paragraph (f) of the definition of designated outworker term in section 12 of the Act, each of the following terms is prescribed: (a) a term that deals with the filing of records about work to which outworker terms of a modern award apply; (b) a term that deals with the provision of materials; (c) a term that is incidental to a designated outworker term, including a term dealing with the observance of the award.
For the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of eligible State or Territory court in section 12 of the Act, the following courts are prescribed: (a) the Industrial Court of New South Wales; (b) the South Australian Employment Court.
For the definition of prescribed State industrial authority in section 12 of the Act, the following State tribunals are prescribed: (a) the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales; (b) the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission; (c) the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission; (d) the South Australian Employment Tribunal; (e) the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.
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(1) For the purposes of the definition of serious misconduct in section 12 of the Act, serious misconduct has its ordinary meaning. Examples of serious misconduct—employees (2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), conduct that is serious misconduct includes the following conduct of an employee: (a) wilful or deliberate behaviour that is inconsistent with the continuation of the contract of employment; (b) conduct that causes serious and imminent risk to: (i) the health or safety of a person; or (ii) the reputation, viability or profitability of the employer’s business; (c) engaging in theft, fraud, assault or sexual harassment in the course of the employee’s employment; (d) being intoxicated at work; (e) refusing to carry out a lawful and reasonable instruction that is consistent with the employee’s contract of employment. (3) Paragraphs (2)(c) to (e) do not apply if the employee is able to show that, in the circumstances, the conduct engaged in by the employee was not conduct that made employment in the period of notice unreasonable. Examples of serious misconduct—employee‑like workers (4) For the purposes of subregulation (1), conduct that is serious misconduct includes the following conduct of an employee‑like worker performing digital platform work through or by means of a digital labour platform, or under a services contract arranged or facilitated through or by means of a digital labour platform: (a) wilful or deliberate behaviour that is inconsistent with: (i) the employee‑like worker continuing to perform that work; or (ii) the employee‑like worker’s continued access to that digital labour platform; (b) conduct that causes serious and imminent risk to: (i) the health or safety of a person; or (ii) the reputation, viability or profitability of the digital labour platform operator; (c) engaging in theft, fraud, assault or sexual harassment in the course of performing that work or in relation to accessing that digital labour platform; (d) being intoxicated in the course of performing that work; (e) refusing to carry out a lawful and reasonable instruction that is consistent with: (i) the employee‑like worker continuing to perform that work; or (ii) the employee‑like worker’s continued access to that digital labour platform. Examples of serious misconduct—regulated road transport contractors (5) For the purposes of subregulation (1), conduct that is serious misconduct includes the following conduct of a regulated road transport contractor performing work under a services contract: (a) wilful or deliberate behaviour that is inconsistent with the continuation of the services contract; (b) conduct that causes serious and imminent risk to: (i) the health or safety of a person; or (ii) the reputation, viability or profitability of a road transport business that is a party to the services contract; (c) engaging in theft, fraud, assault or sexual harassment in the course of performing that work; (d) being intoxicated in the course of performing that work; (e) refusing to carry out a lawful and reasonable instruction that is consistent with the services contract. When a person is taken to be intoxicated (6) For the purposes of paragraphs (2)(d), (4)(d) and (5)(d), a person (the worker) is taken to be intoxicated if the worker’s faculties are, by reason of the worker being under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug (except a drug administered by, or taken in accordance with the directions of, a person lawfully authorised to administer the drug), so impaired that the worker is unfit to be entrusted with the worker’s duties or with any duty that the worker may be called upon to perform.
For the definition of TCF award in section 12 of the Act, each instrument mentioned in the following table is prescribed.
| Item | Instrument |
|---|---|
| 1 | Clothing Trades Award 1999 |
| 2 | Felt Hatting Industry Award 1999 |
| 3 | Footwear Industries Award 2000 |
| 4 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the New South Wales Clothing Trades (State) Award, The |
| 5 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the New South Wales Footwear Manufacturing Industry (State) Award, The |
| 6 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the New South Wales Textile Industry (State) Award, The |
| 7 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Queensland Clothing Trades Award—Southern and Central Divisions 2003, The |
| 8 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Queensland Clothing Trades Award—State (Excluding South‑East Queensland) 2003, The |
| 9 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Queensland Footwear Manufacturing Award—State 2005, The |
| 10 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Queensland Surgical Bootmaking, Bespoke Bootmaking and Boot Repairing Award—State 2003, The |
| 11 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the South Australian Boot and Shoe Award 2006, The |
| 12 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the South Australian Clothing Trades Award, The |
| 13 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Tasmanian Bootmakers Award, The |
| 14 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Tasmanian Clothing Industry Award, The |
| 15 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Tasmanian Textile Award, The |
| 16 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Western Australian Bag, Sack and Textile Award, The |
| 17 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Western Australian Bespoke Bootmakers’ and Repairers’ Award No. 4 of 1946, The |
| 18 | Notional Agreements Preserving the State Award that includes terms and conditions derived from the Western Australian Clothing Trades Award 1973, The |
| 19 | Textile Industry Award 2000 |
| 20 | Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award 2010 |
(1) For the purposes of subsection 15C(1) of the Act, this regulation: (a) prescribes the amount of the contractor high income threshold for the year starting on 1 July 2024; and (b) sets out the manner in which the contractor high income threshold is to be worked out for a later year starting on 1 July. Amount for year starting on 1 July 2024 (2) The amount for the year starting on 1 July 2024 is $175,000. Amount for a later year (3) The amount for the year starting on 1 July 2025, or a later year starting on 1 July, is: (a) for the year starting on 1 July 2025—the amount for the year starting on 1 July 2024, indexed using the following method statement; or (b) for a later year—the amount worked out under this subregulation for the previous year, indexed using the following method statement.
Method statement
Step 1. Identify the assessment of current average weekly ordinary time earnings published by the Australian Statistician and in effect on 1 July in the current year.
Note: This is the amount of the average weekly ordinary time earnings, seasonally adjusted, for full‑time adult employees of all employers in Australia for that day.
Step 2. Divide it by the assessment of current average weekly ordinary time earnings published by the Australian Statistician and in effect on 1 July of the previous year.
Note: This is the amount of the average weekly ordinary time earnings, seasonally adjusted, for full‑time adult employees of all employers in Australia for that day.
Step 3. Round the result to 3 decimal places. If the fourth decimal place is 5 or above, round it up.
If the rounded result is less than 1, the rounded result becomes 1.
Multiply the amount referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) (as the case may be) for the previous year by the rounded result.
If the result is not a multiple of $100, round the result to the nearest multiple of $100. If the result is a multiple of $50, round it up to the next multiple of $100.
The result is the amount for the year.
(1) The following industries are prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 15RA(3)(d) of the Act: (a) the industry that would comprise the road transport and distribution industry (within the meaning of the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 as in force on 1 July 2024), to the extent it would relate to transporting or otherwise dealing with livestock covered by subregulation (2), if the references in that award to “livestock” covered all such livestock; (b) the industry that would comprise the private transport industry (within the meaning of the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2020 as in force on 1 July 2024) engaged in long distance operations (within the meaning of that award), to the extent it would relate to transporting or otherwise dealing with livestock covered by subregulation (2), if the references in that award to “livestock” covered all such livestock. (2) This subregulation covers cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, poultry, emus, ostrich, alpaca, deer, camels and buffalo.
(1) For the purposes of paragraph 15S(1)(a) of the Act, the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020, as in force on 1 July 2024, is taken not to apply in relation to transporting or otherwise dealing with livestock covered by subregulation 1.08A(2). (2) For the purposes of paragraph 15S(1)(b) of the Act, the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2020, as in force on 1 July 2024, is taken not to apply in relation to transporting or otherwise dealing with livestock covered by subregulation 1.08A(2).
(1) For paragraph 16(2)(c) of the Act, this regulation provides for the determination of the base rate of pay for the purposes of the National Employment Standards for a national system employee who is an award/agreement free employee and a pieceworker.
Note: The Act defines award/ agreement free employee in section 12 and pieceworker in section 21.
(2) The base rate of pay, expressed as an hourly rate of pay, is worked out using the formula: where:
TA is the total amount earned by the employee during the relevant period.
TH is the total hours worked by the employee during the relevant period.
the relevant period is:
(a) for an employee who was continuously employed by the employer for a period of 12 months or more immediately before the base rate of pay is to be worked out—the 12 months before the rate is to be worked out; or
(b) for an employee who was continuously employed by the employer for a period of less than 12 months immediately before the base rate of pay is to be worked out—that period.
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.